The Legal 500

Headed by the ‘outstandingly intelligent’ Damian Simeonov, Borislav Boyanov & Co’s capital markets team has a longstanding reputation for ‘excellence’ in the capital markets field. Although there has been a dearth of capital raisings recently, the team has maintained a significant flow of advisory work for international financial institutions such as Credit Suisse, the Bank of New York and ING Bank. The firm also continues to advise Goldman Sachs on the public offering and distribution of one of a Luxembourg-based umbrella funds’ sub-funds.

Capital markets powerhouse DTT has the ‘best knowledge of securities regulations and public companies’ and provides ‘concrete and appropriate advice’ on both the debt and equity side. Led by Iordan Tchompalov (‘especially good in drafting legal opinions’) and Dimitar Dimitrov (‘very good in designing strategy for complex projects and advising how to solve difficult situations’), the nine-strong team is regularly at the forefront of the most significant mandates in the market such as its recent representation of BG Agro on its €34.5m IPO. Other notable mandates included advising Chimimport Invest on the issuance of €70m convertible bonds.

At Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov, Vessela Stancheva-Mincheva heads a four-partner banking and finance group which regularly handles capital markets mandates for a predominantly bank-facing client base. The group recently represented HYPO Investmentbank on a €6m sovereign bond issuance by the Municipality of Varna.

Spasov & Bratanov has a ‘very good reputation’ for capital markets work, for both issuers and underwriters. Recent work has included advising several investment companies on the purchase of a major corporate. Georgi Spasov and Vassil Hadjov are the lynchpins of the practice.

Headed by David Butts and Reneta Petkova, CMS Cameron McKenna in cooperation with Petkova & Sirleshtov Law Office’s six-fee-earner capital markets team has an underwriter focus to its practice. Active on both the debt and equity side, recent highlights include advising a major international financial institution on a securitisation scheme related to state receivables.

Spearheaded by the ‘creative’ and ‘robust’ Vladimir Rangeloff, Kambourov & Partners provides ‘excellent’ capital markets advice across the spectrum for issuers and underwriters. Imbued with a ‘strong client-service ethic’, the team continues to handle a significant amount of work for major funds such as the Black Sea Property Fund and ELANA Agricultural Land Opportunity Fund.

Overseen by managing partner Vladimir Penkov, Penkov, Markov & Partners handles both debt and equity capital markets work. A robust cadre of top financial institutions including the EBRD, Citigroup and BNP Paribas regularly instruct the firm.

Tocheva & Manadazhieva Law Office provides ‘very innovative and flexible advice’ to clients across the gamut of capital markets matters including derivatives transactions, collective investment schemes and public offerings. Benefiting from ‘very deep knowledge on EU-related capital markets matters’, the firm recently advised an engineering and construction company on a dual-listing on both the Bulgarian and Polish stock exchanges. The ‘very responsive’ Zhulieta Mandazhieva heads a team that also includes ‘excellent’ Ivana Bliznakova. Clients include Tradeville, Real Estate Sofia REIT, Alaric Capital, Elana Fund Management and Status Capital Managing Company.

Led by Viktor Tokushev, the ‘very efficient’ Tokushev and Partners Law Office has an excellent reputation for capital markets work. Recent highlights include advising REIT, Intercapital Property Development, on a further capital increase, a process that involved a dual listing on both the Sofia and Warsaw stock exchanges. The team has also handled bond-restructuring work for Intercapital Property Development.

Headed by the ‘experienced, well-prepared and professional’ Nikolay Bebov, Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners (Landwell) has a ‘good knowledge of the relevant legal and commercial environment’ and acts for both underwriters and issuers on capital raisings. The team is also singled out for praise for its ‘good knowledge of financial regulation’ and recently advised Bulgarian investment firm, KD Securities, on the voluntary return of its MiFID licence.

Antoaneta Dimolarova, Rozalina Gradinarova and Partners – Attorneys at Law provides wide ranging capital markets expertise across the full gamut of matters from debt and equity capital raisings to regulatory issues. Managing partner Antoaneta Dimolarova is recommended.

Arsov Natchev Ganeva’s Vladimir Natchev leads a capital markets practice that acts for both issuers and underwriters on both transactional and regulatory matters.

At Atanassov & Ivanov Law Firm, Denitza Stoyanova handles capital markets work.

Borissov & Partners acts for a varied array of issuers, investors and market operators on both capital raisings and regulatory matters. The firm continues to provide ongoing advice to KD Group.

The ‘impressive’ team at Dinova & Rusev has handled a range of regulatory matters for clients, including MiFID compliance concerns for EFG Eurobank Ergasias, and transactional matters, such as a public tender offering for Sofia Hotel Balkan. Managing partner Anelia Dinova is praised for her ‘sophisticated advice and in-depth knowledge of the market’ and is a key part of a team that also includes the ‘excellent’ Diana Valkova. Clients include United Bulgarian Bank, EFG Eurobank Egrasias, CEZ and Sofia Hotel Balkan.

At Dobrev, Kinkin & Lyutskanov Law Firm, the ‘experienced and professional’ Roumen Lyutskanov advised Dexia Kommunalkredit, amongst other banks, on the €120m bond restructuring for the Bulgarian State Railways. The ‘responsive’ Grozdan Dobrev is also recommended.

Although it is small in comparison with many of its peers, Kalaidjiev and Georgiev displays a ‘high-quality’ product that is the envy of the competition. Active across the broad spectrum of matters, Angel Kalaidjiev is ‘truly a scholar for capital markets work’.

As part of its broader banking and finance group, the ‘very responsive and thorough’ Penev LLP often handles work for both issuers and underwriters.

Popov & Partners provides ‘sharp and accurate advice’ to issuers and underwriters on both the debt and equity side. The firm continued advising PRC, recently advising it on a capital raising by means of a public offering. Elisaveta Yotova and ‘great tactician and strategist’ Galin Popov are recommended.

At Yonev Valkov Nenov, Ekaterina Dimitrova and Georgi Yonev handle both regulatory and transactional capital markets work.